A Fool's Errand
by pikachu13
Summary: Prowl is ordered to defend Praxus, But soon his directive goes horribly astray.  But once in the confides of the Decepticon base, it seems like Prowl and company will face certain doom, but sometimes a hero can be found in the most darnest of places.
1. Chapter 1

Hello there all you Transformer fanfic readers! Sorry for the year-long hiatus. Here's a dainty little tidbit I plan to split up into 3 parts. There's a mystery hero character in the story, let's see if you can figure out who he is! I'd also like to take this moment to thank all of you who during my hiatus have added me as a favorite, added me as a favorite story, and as a favorite author or under author alerts. This story's for you guys. Thanks so much for your support!

**A Fool's Errand**

Cybertron's moons watched helplessly as the planet's inhabitants continued to wage their endless war below. It was pretty obvious the planet Cybertron had seen better days. But since the falling out of its species and the declaration of war, the planet slowly began to fall more and more into a decrepit state. One city in particular, Praxus, the last stronghold of the Autobots faced ongoing ravage and destruction, but held steadfast despite the increasing number of Decepticon attacks. It was clear that Megatron, the self-proclaimed leader of the Deceptions, wanted to take down this last city-state hard and fast. It was just a matter of time before his determination would again get him what he desired, the whole planet of Cybertron at his knees.

Prowl, the second-in-command to the renowned Autobot leader Optimus Prime, was chosen to lead the last line of defense, should the Decepticons breach their final barrier. Little did they know, it would happen. Today.

A small cadre of defenders, lay hidden along the outskirts of the city, amongst the ruins and rubble from the last battle. Waiting, listening. Rumors spoke of an upcoming Decepticon raid, in the not too distant future. This had Optimus and his army on edge. To not believe it, would be too crucial a mistake to make, especially with their defenses so low. So the group was sent out, as a precaution. After about 30,000 astro-seconds, a young femme with black and white body armor who was positioned to guard Prowl's right flank, impatiently stood up from her hiding place and instinctively brushed her forehead, as a human would do if a lock of hair was in their face.

"Guess those rumors were bogus." She said as she put her blaster away and let out a huff.

"NIERA! Get down!" Prowl started to shout, but then toned it down to a whisper. "Stay out of sight, you don't know what's out there."

"And _you_ do?" She snapped.

"Look, you're still young, and your ability to detect other Cybertronian signatures hasn't fully matured yet. It's dangerous for you to even be out here, but we're short-handed as it is, and need all the help we can get. Besides, we-"

Prowl froze mid sentence when the detection of 20 Decepticon signatures approaching passed through his systems, dwarfing his cadre of 8. A lone laser shot blew between the two, narrowly missing Niera's face by inches, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards.

"They're close! All fire!" Prowl shouted.

The doomed cadre gave it their all, but as Megatron had anticipated, their numbers dwindled quickly, till only two remained.

Megatron then emerged from the back ranks and confidently approached the front lines. The other Decepticons stepped aside as he walked past.

"Hold your fire." He commanded.

A stray laser was fired, after he had said this. He turned his head swiftly towards the mech holding the only smoking blaster. It was Frenzy, one of Soundwave's pint-size creations.

"I said hold your fire!" He roared, then reached down to grab the little mech. "How dare you disobey my orders!"

Soundwave, who was present, felt a twinge of apprehension upon seeing this, but chose to ignore it, as it was his leader's right to punish his troops. Frenzy would hopefully learn from his mistake.

"Wait Megatron! Don't kill me yet. Look! At least I shot their last guy!" Frenzy pleaded and frantically pointed towards the rubble.

And sure enough, there was Prowl, on the ground and grunting in pain. The laser had passed completely through his right leg, rendering him immobile and helpless.

As the Decepticons slowly approached him, He turned his head and spoke quietly to Niera, as she was now the only un-injured survivor.

"Niera…stay hidden, hide your heat signature till their gone. When they are, go back to base and tell Optimus what happened. But whatever you do, DO NOT FOLLOW. Understand?"

She reluctantly nodded through teary optics, then crawled back into her hiding place and reduced her heat levels so she wouldn't be detected.

Prowl attempted to push himself up with his arms, but a heavy foot came down on his back, pinning him there.

"Well if it isn't Optimus Prime's second-in-command. I never expected him to send his right-hand mech to the front lines. He _really_ must be desperate." Megatron laughed.

"You will be very useful to me indeed. I'm sure you'll tell me all the information I need to know about Praxus' defenses."

"I'm not telling you anything." Prowl spat. "Kill me if you will, but I will NOT betray Optimus."

Megatron frowned. "Your loyalty disgusts me. Decepticons! Bring him to the base."

Skywarp and Thundercracker hoisted Prowl by his arms and started to drag him away. Soundwave, who was bringing up the rear, stopped cold in his tracks and turned his head ever so slowly and looked in the direction of Niera's hiding place. He stood that way for a moment, then turned and continued to follow his comrades.

Once they were out of sight, Niera emerged from her hiding place.

"Prowl's capture was all my fault…" she told herself. "It's a fool's errand, but have to get him back and make things right."

She subspaced her blaster and against her commander's wishes, began to track and follow them.

She kept to the ruins, using the destroyed buildings as cover, doing her best to keep to the rooftops to get a better view of her surroundings. When it seemed like millions of astro-seconds had passed, she noticed a lethargic feeling was overcoming her. It was her energon reserves, she was getting low on energy and was just about to cut her losses and return to base when distant voices broke the silence.

It was them alright. They had stopped for some reason. But who cared what that reason was! This was her chance! To right her wrongs and to save Prowl! But from a 20-mech-strong battalion of Decepticons? That was unlikely. But she had to try.

She was scared, surely anything she'd try would rouse the attention of every Decepticon down there. She was limited on options. She took a moment to decide what to do. Her perch, which was a second story abandoned building with most of its wall blown off, was and ideal place for sniping, so she decided she would try to pick them off one by one. She took a deep breath, and was just about to reveal herself for her first shot when concussion waves destroyed the foundation from beneath her feet.

She landed on the ground floor below, covered in debris. Heavy footsteps announced the arrival of an unwanted visitor. She fearfully looked on as the red optics of a dark blue mouthless mech with a large rectangular chest, holding a concussion blaster stood before her.

"Concealment skills: mediocre." He monotoned to her. She sneered at him. How dare he insult her!

"Soundwave, have you captured the mech whose been tracking us?" Megatron called as he approached.

"Affirmative. Said mech is actually a femme." He responded.

She couldn't believe it. All this time they _knew_ she was following them?

"Excellent!"

When Megatron's optics fell upon the young femme, his stern features became pleasant.

"Ahh…So nice of you to drop in, my dear. And who may I ask are you?"

She held her tongue.

"Not talking eh? Well when_ I_ ask for something, I expect to get it. Soundwave, find out who she is."

Not knowing what to expect, a chill ran through her systems as the dark blue mech approached her and forcefully yanked her out of the rubble by one of her arms.

Prowl's optics widened. "No! Let her go!"

As Thundercracker tightened his grip on the Autobot Second-in-command, he could feel the desperation that Prowl was giving off at the sight of this soldier being handled roughly by Soundwave. This puzzled him as he himself had felt that way once before too, but under different circumstances. He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind, for the moment.

While in the grips of her captor, Niera wanted to fight back, but because of her exhausted energon reserves, it meant she would have to endure whatever torture this mech was about to exact upon her.

With his free hand, Soundwave gently wrapped his fingers around her forehead. At first she felt nothing, then an excruciating pain flooded her systems. She couldn't scream because she didn't have the energy to. After a moment, he released her head and turned to Megatron.

"Identity discovered. Designation: Niera…Prowl's niece."

Thundercracker suddenly slackened his grip.

Megatron's expression changed to a look satisfaction. Then he turned his attention back to his previous captive.

"Well, it seems I _will_ have the information I need from you after all, Prowl. Besides, isn't the life of your niece more important than the measly defense of Praxus?"

Prowl stayed quiet, and bowed his head in defeat as the sound of Megatron's laughter felt crippling to his audio receptors.

"Decepticons!" Megatron announced. "Our time of dominance is almost at hand. Let us return to base and begin our final preparations!"

The Decepticons cheered. Then gathered their hostages and took to the skies.

To be continued...

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews welcome. Chapter 2 will be posted soon!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm sure you'd rather read the story instead of these author notes, but I'd just like to say thank you to those who added me to their story alerts within the first hour of posting. You know who you are. =) So, without further ado, here's chappy 2!

**In the Brig**

The confides of the Decepticon base were cold and uninviting, but what would you expect from the hideout of the enemy? Upon arrival, Megatron ordered that Prowl and Niera be placed in different holding cells on different floors. He figured, as long as Prowl couldn't see if she was safe or not, he knew that would give him an advantage when seeking the information he needed.

The first victim to undergo an interrogation in Megatron's presence was Prowl. The Decepticon tyrant approached his cell and stopped inches before the glowing energy beams that made up the 'bars' of the cell. It's yellow haze illuminating the Decepticon leader's stern facial features. Prowl continued to hold his injured leg, despite the fact that it desperately needed medical attention.

"So what's it going to be, Prowl? Information? Or the innocence of your niece?"

Megatron waited for an answer, but Prowl kept his head down and didn't speak.

"Very well. I will see to your niece first. Maybe her screams will aid me in getting the information that I seek."

Prowl listened as Megatron's heavy footsteps left the brig. He felt his world collapsing. Niera was his _only_ niece. He promised his co-creation, Niera's mother, that he would never let anything happen to her. And now she was in the clutches of the Decepticons, who paid no heed to rules or regulations when it came to younglings.

Megatron entered the brig that held Niera and was annoyed to see most of his soldiers standing at the bars of her cell like she was a circus attraction.

"What are all you idiots doing? Don't you have duties to tend to?" He growled.

His Decepticons instantly dispersed, lined up, and turned to face him. Every one of them with a look of fear in their optics as they faced Megatron and his unforgiving glare.

"But we've never had a femme on the base before." One of them dared to speak. "Not one this young, anyway."

"She's not _that_ young." Megatron's Second-in-command stated as he stepped forward, rudely nudging his allies aside so he could make himself seen.

"What are your plans for her, oh mighty leader?" He asked sarcastically.

"A motivator for Prowl so he can provide us with information about Praxus' defenses."

There was a pause.

"Nothing more than that?" Starscream added while he examined his fingers for little imperfections, as if waiting to hear more.

"No." Megatron said flatly.

This was Starscream's opportunity. "Since you personally have no need for her at the moment, perhaps_ I_ should be the one to properly 'welcome' her into our humble institution."

Megatron's face went rigid.

"_You_ will do nothing of the sort."

Starscream irked with disappointment. "But…as Second-in-command, it is my right to be first in line to claim the spoils of war that you have no need for."

"Not in this case." He stated bluntly. "I need her alive for the time being."

"Oh I won't hurt her…much." He said with a smirk that he just couldn't hold in.

Megatron approached Starscream and stopped when he was a few inches from his face. "_You_ will not come NEAR this cell for the remaining duration of her existence, and trust me, it won't be long. Once I get that information, both the Autobots will die." He then lifted a threatening finger. "And _that_ will be my final word on the subject."

Starscream thinned his optics and sneered when Megatron turned away.

Thundercracker eyed Starscream mysteriously when he did this.

Megatron then addressed his troops. "Well? Don't just stand there like piles of slag! Everyone back to their stations! We prepare our final plan within the next cycle."

Megatron then turned to Niera. "I will be back for you then."

The Decepticons hastily fled the brig, but one remained, staring and smiling intently through the energon bars that separated him from his prize. Niera had heard the whole conversation and continued to sit in silence. His piercing gaze was enough to make her shudder and turn away. She began to feel sick to her internal systems and had a feeling this first night wasn't going to be an easy one.

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><p>Once nightfall came, the corridors of the Decepticon hideout grew uncomfortably silent. She knew he would come for her. Starscream would surely carry out his task, and she dreaded that thought. Breems earlier, his eyes spoke volumes of what he planned to accomplish. And with the only Autobot nearby to save her being her injured Uncle, it wasn't looking very hopeful.<p>

By now her systems were screaming to her that if she didn't get some energon in her within the next breem, her systems would permanently shut down. She wanted to get a little sleep to recharge, but there was no way she was going to be caught sleeping when Starscream came.

She was uncomfortably anxious.

Every time she heard footsteps approaching the door, her weakened systems would muster what adrenaline they could, but luckily, the Decepticons all kept on walking past.

The outer corridor lights had just gone out for the night when a pair of feet were walking right by the door. But the second the lights went off, the sound of feet never continued down the corridor. She nervously eyed the brig door, paying close attention to the red light on the keypad signifying that the door was locked. She could hear quiet shifting coming from the other side of the door. The telltale shadow of a pair of legs coming from under the door was like an insects point of view of a black widow emerging from its hiding place, approaching for the kill.

Niera stared helplessly at the red light on the security keypad as it flicked to green. Terror began to flood her systems. This was it. He was beyond the door. And he would hold no quarter to whatever it was he was about to do to her.

To be continued...

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><p>How's that for a cliffhanger? Sorry it was so short. Next one will be the final chappy. See you all next update! Hope you're enjoying this. Reviews welcome.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Well, here's the final chappy. Sorry for the suspense.

**The Moment of Truth**

The door opened slowly and Starscream's un-mistakenable silhouette and red optics floated into the room. She gave a small gasp as the towering seeker approached her cell. Niera started to cry as the energon bars to her cell de-materialized when he pressed the keypad. She started shaking her head no when he started to speak.

"Don't cry my dear. Good old Starscream isn't going to kill you, he just wants what he's entitled to."

He hastily starts to reach for her when he suddenly convulses violently and falls to the ground face-first, stunned. Niera's vision, which was now starting to blur thanks to her dangerously low energon reserves, eyes a second Transformer in the brig. This one holding a tazer weapon in one hand and an energon ration in the other.

"P—Prowl?" She weakly manages to speak.

The dark figure walks in just as she closes her eyes. He holds and supports her back as he pours the energon down her mouth and hopes that he's not too late.

"Don't worry. You'll be alright." The deep voice assures her.

He picks her up and carries her out of the brig.

* * *

><p>Only moments later, Niera begins to come to. The energon clearly doing its job of reviving her. She opens her eyes and finds herself staring up at the ceiling of a brig cell…a <em>different<em> brig cell. She quickly sits up from her laying position, and notices that she's not alone in that cell. The heat signature of the slumped over black and white Cybertronian at her feet she recognized instantly.

"Prowl!"

The Autobot, also low on energon sluggishly turned his head towards her.

"N-Niera? You're safe. But…how?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Uncle, but—" She was about finish her reply when her eyes darted straight ahead and noticed that the energon bars of his cell were turned off, and an yet another energon ration, medical supplies an a datapad with schematics of the ventilation system were placed neatly beside them.

"Who…who did this?" She asked as she picked up one of the medical devices used to administer healing serums.

Prowl reached for the energon and remembered the urgency of getting the both of them out of there before they were discovered.

"Here. Drink this." He offered her the energon before drinking any himself.

"You drink it." She replied. "The kind stranger that brought me here and I'm assuming these medical supplies too, already gave me some earlier. But why would anyone on this base help _us_?"

Prowl attempted to sit up and prompted Niera on how to administer some painkillers in his leg. The healing serum did its job and shortly after administering, he was able to get up a lot easier. Niera threw one of Prowl's arms over her shoulder, picked up the datapad and walked with him through the open cell door. Prowl took the opportunity to refuel with the energon ration and downed it in one gulp. While following the schematics on the datapad, they were able to find a ventilation entrance that led to an emergency escape hatch.

Once outside, Prowl used his comlink to send a distress call and arrange for an emergency pick-up. A second later, Prowl's comlink came to life.

"Prowl! This is Prime. We're sending out a shuttle to your location immediately. I'll see you when you get here. Prime out."

"Did you hear that? We're gonna get rescued!" Niera cheered.

Prowl was relieved by his leader's words, but his concern for his niece had always been priority one.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything are you?"

"I'm fine, Unc. All thanks to that mech with the deep voice…whoever he was."

This stirred his memory banks.

"I remember hearing something while I was in recharge. It sounded like a voice, like someone was talking to me. The deep voice said that he's been in my situation before, and that he never wants to see it happen to another Cybertronian ever again. I don't know what he meant, and I didn't hear clearly all that he said. I wonder if he was real…or maybe I was just imagining things."

"He _had_ to have been real." Niera chimed in. "Otherwise, how would we have gotten _this_ far?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Megatron had finally formulated his ultimate plan and was on his way down to the brig to remove Niera from her cell and threaten to kill her in front of Prowl to get the last bit of information he needed.<p>

Two of Starscream's seekers accompanied the Decepticon leader to the brig. Once there, Megatron's optics widened at the site of the empty cell, but those same optics fiendishly flashed red at the sight of his Second-in-command sprawled out face down in the middle of the open cell doorway. The sound of his trine mates entering the brig stirred the woozy Second-in-command, but not by much until-

"**STARSCREAM!"**

The words of his superior jolted him awake and he frantically stood up to full height. His leader's optics were as sharp as knives.

"Explain yourself. Now."

"Treachery!" He blurted out. "I was uh…checking on the prisoner when I was unexpectedly attacked from behind. Clearly someone wanted the femme all for themselves and chose to deliberately disobey _your_ orders to satisfy their own needs!"

Megatron, having heard his lies for several eons now, knew exactly when he was fabricating a story.

"It seems to me the only one whose committed treachery here is _you_. Especially since you came down here after I specifically ordered you not to."

Megatron's hand soon gripped Starscream's throat. The feeling of it felt so rehearsed to the both of them.

One seeker in particular watched the whole ordeal, trying his best to stifle a smile.

Suddenly, the outer perimeter alarm started blaring and all heads turned to the nearby security monitor. It showed the Autobot rescue shuttle picking up Prowl and Niera from the outer walls of their base.

"How in the universe did they escape? Without Prowl's intel, I can't execute my plan!" Megatron thundered.

His eyes returned to Starscream. "This is all _your_ fault. And for that you will pay dearly."

As the monitor showed the shuttle as it flew out of sight, a look of satisfaction was present on the face of one blue and grey seeker.

The End

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><p>an: Hope you enjoyed the story. So...did you all figure out who the mystery hero was? ;)


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